Integration with RescueTime would be very interesting!
Ididwork (YC Summer 08) Launches
41–50 of 65 posts
Re: Ididwork (YC Summer 08) Launches
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm the other cofounder. That's something we're working to alleviate concerns for - we've added hackersafe and verisign (and truste's on the roadmap) so the data is secure and the session is encrypted. It's definitely something we want our users to be comfortable with, and something we're working on.
Right. But my actual concern was not that a middleman is snooping, but the concern of giving the data to ididwork.com. Its not that data is not secure, but I think companies might be just simply paranoid(for no reason maybe). A hosted solution within thier control might be one of the solutions. Again, might be people are ok with that and its just my thought.
"A hosted solution within thier control"
Having the customer host a complex web application is likely going to be less secure then a hosted solution.
Consider the customer has to manage the code, applications that support the code (mysql, apache), manage the web server, and manage the physical security of the web server.
Your data is safer hosted.
Re: Ididwork (YC Summer 08) Launches
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
The only concern I have is, I might not want to give details to somebody on the tasks Im working(since the projects whatever I do in my company are confidential). This could be a genunine problem for most company employees but for personal tracking its great. EDIT: Same concern over rescuetime which sends all the corporate urls to thier server?
I'm the other cofounder. That's something we're working to alleviate concerns for - we've added hackersafe and verisign (and truste's on the roadmap) so the data is secure and the session is encrypted. It's definitely something we want our users to be comfortable with, and something we're working on.
You probably want to be careful about how you word "we've added HackerSafe" to corporate customers. I will say the following things:
* "Off-the-shelf" scanner-based certifications are not held in uniformly high esteem by companies with IT security groups.
* HackerSafe just won the Pwnie award at Black Hat for "Lamest Vendor Response".
* Talking about how you have a security SDLC, code reviews, and secure architecture will offer much bigger warm fuzzies to customers.
Also, avoid blanket statements like "so the data is secure". Marketing 101. If you're going to invite objections, make sure they're objections you want to deal with, not ones where you'll eventually have to concede.
Re: Ididwork (YC Summer 08) Launches
#44This may be the workout log I've been looking for. I've been wanting a web app that will let me easily enter, e.g., "went for a run", and then allow me to view a graph of my workout history (i.e., how many workouts I've done).
Re: Ididwork (YC Summer 08) Launches
#45Vaguely like 'Stuff To Do', which I ended up open sourcing because I just didn't see the demand in that space. Of course theirs is prettier (lots prettier), and more professional looking. Still, I wonder about making money in that space - it's quite crowded, and there is probably a lot of competition from "good enough" solutions.
Re: Ididwork (YC Summer 08) Launches
#46"Micromanagement" and "Time Poor" - 2 concerns that scream out when I look at this product.
RescueTime did a fantastic job at removing the "time poor" component for keeping track of where you spend your time, hence living up to its name.
Having worked in the corporate world and in start-ups I can tell you now that most corporate clients already have a time sheet system that is a pain in the a. Employees spend at least 30mins or so a day writing everything they did throughout the day and billing their time where appropriate.
When it comes to getting management feedback for each task you did, again managers are time poor having to deal with more then 1 person in their team + their own tasks from higher management. Hence why performance reviews between you and manager occur every quarter / 6 months / annually and only focus on the high level picture - the stuff that counts - the outcomes / results.
Micromanagement is another issue; no one likes to jot down every action they did. What "matters" is always the end result not the bits in the middle. I.e. taking a client for coffee spending 2 hours out of the office is a step to a potential sale (building rapport). At the end of the day, the sale is what will count on your performance agreement not the coffee break. My manager doesn't want to know that I went to coffee with a client unless I managed to get a sale.
I'm sure some of you would have heard this before but the best workers are those where management give them what they need to do their job and let them do it without micromanaging their time. How and when they do it doesn't matter, all that matters is the end results (outcomes).
Re: Ididwork (YC Summer 08) Launches
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm the other cofounder. That's something we're working to alleviate concerns for - we've added hackersafe and verisign (and truste's on the roadmap) so the data is secure and the session is encrypted. It's definitely something we want our users to be comfortable with, and something we're working on.
You probably want to be careful about how you word "we've added HackerSafe" to corporate customers. I will say the following things: * "Off-the-shelf" scanner-based certifications are not held in uniformly high esteem by companies with IT security groups. * HackerSafe just won the Pwnie award at Black Hat for "Lamest Vendor Response". * Talking about how you have a security SDLC, code reviews, and secure architecture…
People buy into Hackersafe for many reasons, including the fact that a Hackersafe badge and customer link will boost your Google pagerank (this was the case last year, but google is always improving).
Also the little green badge does slightly improve conversion rates for marginal and otherwise unknown ecommerce sites.
So Hackersafe can be some good marketing, even if it's rather a joke from the standpoint of what they check for (if you fail their scan, you really fail; passing tells you little).
Re: Ididwork (YC Summer 08) Launches
#48Do you guys have an API?
Re: Ididwork (YC Summer 08) Launches
#49"Micromanagement" and "Time Poor" - 2 concerns that scream out when I look at this product. RescueTime did a fantastic job at removing the "time poor" component for keeping track of where you spend your time, hence living up to its name. Having worked in the corporate world and in start-ups I can tell you now that most corporate clients already have a time sheet system that is a pain in the a . Employees spend at lea…
I would agree, the "time poor" issue is obvious. However, I've been testing this out a little and figure to try it on myself first (me managing me).
My first impression--besides idiotwork--is that they really make things simple. They seems to be going for the twitter, microblogging style for management. They really reduce a lot of the fat out of managing tasks and reporting.
I like how it just asks, "What did you do?" Instead of, "what's the progress?" "what are your road blocks?" "are you sure you're not critical path?" I'm not sure if this tool will answer those questions, but I'm not sure if they're aiming to do that either.
But then again, I'm not as "time poor" as some may be.
Re: Ididwork (YC Summer 08) Launches
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Later on we're planning on charging managers/companies that want to use this as a tool to manage multiple teams and employees. We'll never charge the users that are using it as an individual account.
How does your software fit in with the purpose of timesheet software? I know they're not the same, but people have to enter this information for timesheets to bill clients. I know that people put that off all the time, so if they had to do this as well it would be a nightmare. How would you convince a company that already uses timesheet software to also use your software? I see one or the other becoming a repetitive…
I did use something like that at the last company I worked for. Something we're looking into (probably more long term) is building out an API that can play well with others.